12 Easy Ways to Make Money in Retirement

If you’re looking for legitimate ways to add money to your bank account, here is a list of ways to make money in retirement.

When we think of retirement, many of us dream of traveling, spending more time with family and friends, and pursuing hobbies in our free time.

However, as retirees settle into their new day-to-day routine, many find that their retirement money doesn’t stretch as far as they would hope, or, in some cases, boredom sets in. 

Thankfully, with work from home jobs skyrocketing in popularity and availability, entering the retirement phase of life doesn’t mean the end of money, work, or enjoying a routine you love. 

What’s better, with online jobs, retirees can enjoy flexibility and extra income in their golden years.

Below, we’ve listed some easy ways to make money in retirement from home while enjoying all the flexibility and freedom retirement offers!

1. Transcribing and Captioning Jobs

Do you love typing? How about listening to others speak?

Taking on transcription work as a retiree is a perfect way to bring in extra cash while doing something you love. 

As a transcriptionist, you’ll take live or pre-recorded audio and convert it into a written document.  

You’ll need a computer, an internet connection, and, in some cases, a headset for listening to audio clips. Here are some companies that consistently hire home-based transcriptionists: 

Rev: Earn money as a transcriptionist or captioner. Get paid weekly, choose from hundreds of transcription jobs, and work a flexible schedule. Rev is one of the more popular and trusted transcription sites out there.

TranscribeMe: As a transcriber with TranscribeMe, you’ll provide transcription for medical, educational, and entertainment fields while getting paid to transcribe short, 2- to 4-minute audio clips. As with many of these work from home jobs, you’ll have complete flexibility with your schedule.

2. Complete Short Tasks Online

From taking surveys to watching videos and more, you can easily make money from home, helping brands understand what consumers love.

Here are some fantastic opportunities to earn money doing short simple tasks online: 

• InboxDollars: Complete free offers, search the web, play games, and more to earn money using InboxDollars’ flexible platform.
• Respondent: Earn an average of $60-$140 for taking surveys, testing websites, and participating in focus groups.
• Swagbucks: Watch videos, take surveys, and more to earn Swagbucks, which you can turn into gift cards or PayPal cash.
• User Interviews: Take surveys and earn cash! This research platform recruits focus group participants to take surveys and test websites.

3. Become an Online English Tutor

Do you love to chat? Get paid for your gift of gab by teaching others how to speak English. From simple, conversational English to teaching younger students all about the English language, becoming an online English tutor is simple and fun. Here are a few reputable English tutoring platforms you can start with: 

Cambly: This is an online tutoring platform that connects you with students who want to learn how to speak English. The best part: no scripted lesson plans. You’ll get paid for simple, conversational English. Students and tutors discuss grammar, punctuation, and slang in a casual environment. Another benefit lies in the platform’s flexibility: log in whenever it suits your schedule and speak with students.

VIPKid: VIPKid is an international learning platform that hires individuals from the United States and Canada to teach English to Chinese students ages 4-12. You’ll earn $15-$22 an hour, enjoy the flexibility to tutor from anywhere and be provided with scripted lesson plans. 

4. Sell Old Stuff

Have designer suits you’re now trading in for yoga pants or sundresses? How about those designer shoes you’ll no longer need to wear in the city? You can make great money selling all of those items you no longer need in your retirement years. Perhaps you love to make handmade items? Yep, you can sell those here too! 

Whether you’re downsizing your home or cleaning out your closets, there are several buying and selling apps you can use to cash in on items you no longer need. Here are a few platforms to start making money as an online selling maven:

Poshmark: Poshmark is a clothing app that makes selling your unused items extremely easy. Grab your smartphone, download the app, create an account, and sell. From clothing and accessories to toys and more, Poshmark is a great place to start your online selling adventures.

Mercari: From new to used clothing and handmade goods, you can sell them all here! This app doesn’t allow meetups to sell your items, but it makes shipping your items super easy. Here’s how it works: 

• Sell it: List your items for free and in minutes with a picture, description, and price.
• Ship it: A printable shipping label is emailed directly to the seller.
• Get paid: There is a 10% selling fee charged after the sale is completed.

VarageSale: This app is precisely what it sounds like a virtual garage sale. You can buy and sell items here safely and securely within your local community. Here’s how it all works: 

• Download the app.
• Connect your Facebook account to verify your identity.
• Post your items locally for sale and check out other items posted as well.

Vestiaire Collective: This high-end online marketplace specializes in designer items for women. Here’s a little more info on using this platform for selling: 

• Sell straight from your closet and post unlimited listings.
• Set your price and choose your preferred shipping method.
• Must be located in the United States 
• Verify that your items are authentic (no fakes!).

5. Start a Blog

Love to write? Why not continue to help others in your field through a blog? Whether you are in the personal finance niche, education, business, fashion, travel, food, or something else, you have the knowledge to share!

What’s even better is that starting a blog in your retirement years is more than just a hobby. You can create a blog and monetize it while writing on topics that you love. 

You can monetize your efforts in ways that feel good to you, whether it’s writing and selling online courses or eBooks, advertising revenue, affiliate income, a monthly membership, brand sponsorships, or something else.

6. Sell Printables Online

Do you love to create? Then, take your creativity and turn it into a profitable online business in your retirement years! Selling printables such as worksheets, templates, coloring pages, or SVG files is a flexible and easy way to flex your creative passion while making money from home.

Other benefits of selling printables online include:

• Zero shipping involved: They’re all downloadable!
• Design with ease: Many design tools and software programs, such as Canva, make creating printables and graphics a snap.
• Sell on a variety of platforms: From Etsy, Podia, Shopify, Patreon, and more, there are various ways to get eyes on your beautiful creations to make those sales.
• Passive income: You create them once and sell them over and over again without any more work.

Sound intriguing? Learn more about designing and selling printables online with the E Printables Side Hustle Course!

7. Rent Stuff

Over the years, you’ve likely accumulated a lot of stuff, some may be just sitting around collecting dust. Whether you have large-scale items like an RV, boat, extra space in your garage, or a spare room, or smaller-scale items like tools, sporting equipment, or camping equipment, you can likely rent it online for extra retirement income. With the popularity of platforms like Airbnb, other rental platforms for just about every item imaginable have launched. Whether you want to rent your car, driveway, expensive clothing, or camera, you can do it. 

Depending on how many items you have and how often you rent them, you can make a pretty penny just by renting things you already own. Some people even turn this business idea into a full-time business by renting out their homes or party equipment like bounce houses. Check out this post for a full list of sites where you can earn extra money renting stuff. 

8. Dog Walking and Pet-Sitting

If you’re a pet lover, this next idea is for you! With the Rover and Wag apps, you can set up an account and earn money caring for pets. The services you can offer are varied, as well as the types of animals that you watch. With these apps, you can choose when want to work and how much to charge. Be sure to check out our full review of the Rover app and how much you can earn each month.

9. Virtual Assistant

During the course of your professional career, you’ve likely gained a lot of valuable expertise that can be used to help small business owners. Whether you’re a fast and accurate typist with excellent proofreading skills or a master at booking travel and calendar management, companies like Byron, Time etc, and My VA Rocks are almost always looking for talented virtual assistants to work on administrative tasks. In these part-time jobs, you’ll work as an independent contractor, and you’ll get to choose how many hours you work each week.

10. Start Freelancing

Take your professional talents and turn them into cash with a freelance side gig! Whether you want to earn a little extra money or a lot, with freelance work, you can take on as many projects and clients as you have time to complete. With platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and Legiit, you can easily connect with hungry clients who desperately need your skills. Whether you’re skilled in graphic design, writing, photography, proofreading, editing, video editing, bookkeeping, or something else completely, you’re skills are in demand. 

With the above platforms, you can create a profile, list your services, and bid on projects. Each platform will take a small fee from your total earnings, but this makes it a snap to get started and earn money quickly. 

11. Train AI Tools

With AI becoming increasingly popular, there are many AI side hustles for detail-oriented seniors with excellent written communication and research skills to earn money training AI tools. On some projects, you may evaluate search results, written responses from AI tools, audio or video clips, images, and more. With this part-time work, you’ll get to choose your own hours, and you’ll work as an independent contractor. To get started, explore DataAnnotation Tech, Appen, and TELUS International. 

12. Sell Crafts on Etsy

If you want to start your own side hustle business selling arts and crafts, handmade items like jewelry, soap, or lip gloss, craft supplies, or vintage items and antiques, consider Etsy. Etsy makes it super easy to launch an online shop. All you have to do is create a seller account, upload some high-quality photos and SEO-rich descriptions for the items you’re selling, and promote your listings on social media sites like Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok. You’ll be charged a small fee ($0.20 per listing) and a 6.5% transaction fee on the sale. 

One retiree who has been successful in selling products on Etsy is Carolyn Wainscott. She sells handmade quilts and vintage items on Etsy and eBay. She even has a YouTube channel where she demonstrates craft tutorials.

Final Words About Making Money in Retirement

As a retiree, you may have your days, weeks, and years fully planned out, but there might be some occasions when making money from home (or while you travel the world) that might be a necessity or something you want to do. 

If you need a steady income, AARP has a list of legit companies that hire older workers to work from home.

Whether completing short tasks or tutoring online, retirees have endless possibilities for making money from home and having fun while doing so!

Originally published August 31, 2020. Content updated June 2024.